“I felt like a seventh grader trying to play varsity football.”
Titans TE Gunnar Helm is adjusting to playing in the NFL as minicamp rolls on.
The #Texas ex spoke about his growing confidence in Tennessee⤵️#HookEm pic.twitter.com/Mo5KiqXiUG
— Noah Gross (@noah_gross27) June 13, 2025
The Tennessee Titans selected tight end Gunnar Helm out of Texas with one of their fourth-round picks in the 2025 NFL draft. Right now, Helm sits behind Chig Okonkwo and Josh Whyle, but he has the opportunity to earn the starting spot in 2025 if he plays well enough.
Coming to the NFL isn’t easy, though, and Helm felt out-of-place when he first arrived in Nashville.
The news anchor discusses Helm’s work at Texas, including his role as Quinn Ewers’ security blanket and his production. Then, he says that the adjustment from college to the NFL has made Helm ‘feel a bit young.’
“It’s leaps and bounds,” Helm starts. “You know, I got here and I was talking with some of the vet tight ends, and I was like, ‘You know, I don’t feel like myself. I feel like a seventh-grader trying to play varsity football right now.’ But it’s all just getting used to the speed of the game, learning how to practice with professionals, learning the speed of practice.”
Size-wise, Helm is right in between Okonkwo and Whyle, but Whyle is a giant human being who stands 6-foot-7. His 248 pounds aren’t much more than Helm’s 241, but Helm gives up two inches in height to Whyle. It’s hard to imagine a world where Helm, at 6-foot-5, feels like a child compared to another human being, but it’s about more than size. It’s about taking your game to the next level, and if they thought the jump from high school to college was tough, this jump is even tougher.
Still, Helm is a great tight end, and even if he’s not a Week 1 starter, he’s likely to have some kind of impact in 2025.